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Cacher of the Month - January 2013

Many of you will have started to notice logs on caches from our Cacher of the Month started appearing just over a year ago. At first, I thought it was a new cacher who had joined us. When I met her at an event, I was surprised at the number of finds she had (being a newbie and all). I was quite astonished to find out that she had been caching for over 7 years, and until that time we had never met. I think the reason her name seemed unfamiliar would be because in the not too distant past, she had changed from a previous name: rbt_trio. Now *that* name was familiar to me! I had been tracking it for some time for Cacher of the Month, then it fell into the black hole that all inactive cachers find themselves in when they hadn't cached in a while. It was nice to see the name rising through the ranks of my magic COTM spreadsheet to the point where she has achieved "cacher of the month". Welcome back into the fold, and congratulations on become the MBGA Cacher of the Month for January!

When did you start Geocaching?

I found my first cache on July 07, 2005, on an island in Lake of the Woods, Ontario. The cache was called, Message in a Bottle Bay (GCKDRR), and it is still an active cache.

How did you find out about Geocaching?

I heard about geocaching through the Manitoba Wildlife Federation. They offer a program for women called BOW - Becoming An Outdoors - Woman. It is an entire weekend dedicated to offering women a variety of workshops and training on topics such as Firearm Safety and Shooting Skills, Archery & Bow hunting, Wilderness Survival, Fire Building, Carving, Birding, Outdoor Cooking, Map and Compass and GPS to name a few. The first year that I attended, in 2005, I participated in the Map and Compass and then the GPS courses where all of the participants were introduced to geocaching. We were given gps's to try out, and they hid several (unpublished) caches in the area for us to try and find. Shortly after attending BOW, we purchased our first gps.

What was it about geocaching that got you hooked into the game?

It actually took me a while to get totally hooked into geocaching. The first few years I only found a limited number of caches, less than 75 per year, and I had my longest slump during that time; 575 days without a find! It was the Christmas of 2011 that my husband purchased me a new gps that I really started to become actively involved, and now I am totally hooked! I really enjoy being in the outdoors and exploring, and geocaching has taken me to wonderful places that I otherwise never would have known about. Geocaching has shown me some majestic and beautiful locations, taught me valuable history lessons and introduced me to some truly fantastic people!

Have you cached in any other provinces, countries?

I do not travel a great deal, so unfortunately I haven't cached in many other provinces and countries. To date I have cached in Ontario, North Dakota and Minnesota.

Have you ever introduced someone to geocaching? If so, who?

Yes, I have taken family, friends and co-workers out caching. Friends of ours did purchase a gps and do go out caching occasionally.

How do you describe the sport of Geocaching to your family and friends who haven't tried it yet?

Well, it depends on who I am describing it to, however most often I describe it like a high tech treasure hunt using a gps. Sometimes I ask people if they remember "Search For Gold" and tell them it's similar to that but instead of finding money, you find tupperware!

What are other interests or hobbies that you have (please go into detail / accomplishments)?

I enjoy being in the outdoors; camping, hiking, going to the lake, mountain biking, snowshoeing (my newest hobby), and general exploring. When we are at the lake and I get tired of fishing, I will just get dropped off on an island and go explore the area.

What are some things you don't like about geocaching? What are your pet peeves?

Some of the things that I don't like about geocaching are when caches aren't maintained properly, when dnf's are not logged and my biggest pet peeve is when caches are not replaced to their proper location.

What is the most interesting/unusual place that geocaching has taken you?

I don't know that there is just one. In the past year I've said several times that if it were not for caching, I wouldn't have seen that historic location, wouldn't have biked that scenic trail, wouldn't have viewed that beautiful location, wouldn't have seen that wildlife, I wouldn't have crawled in there or under there, climbed up that or reached my hand into…

What is the most memorable cache that you have found (or tried to find?)?

Well, that's an easy one! It is not the cache find itself, but rather the challenge attached to it in order to log it as a find. It is absolutely and without a doubt, The Streak Challenge: Zombie (GC3BNJG). I will be able to log this one as a find (hopefully) on February 11, 2013, which will be #366 for consecutive days with a find. This challenge cache has taken me to places that I would have never seen otherwise, in weather and conditions that I would not have normally gone out in, and forced me to experience all of the elements and use all of my senses!

A lot of my favourite stories are from caching by the cabin, in Lake of the Woods. My top one is while I was attempting to find, Shammis Island (GC2P4T3). The cache was hidden in the winter, however I went out to try and get it in the summer. The terrain can vary significantly between the seasons, and even in different years - I definitely earned that 5 star terrain!!

I have pretended to be on my phone or taking a picture. I will also look around as if I have lost or dropped something and sometimes I will just keep on walking and return later.

What is the meaning of your username?

Well, that's a long story however I will try to keep it short. When I originally starting caching in 2005 I went by the name rbt_trio. I was the r, my husband Brad the b and our black lab was the t. Over the years many things have changed; Brad does not go out caching anymore (unless he's driving the boat), as the novelty has worn off for him and my best buddy, the "t" in the trio has crossed over the rainbow bridge for geo pets. Due to no longer caching in a trio I decided to change my user name. I really enjoy being outdoors and challenging myself so I wanted a name that reflected that. After tossing around a few ideas that didn't really fit, I decided to change it to 4elements5senses as that really encompassed it all - so I changed my username just this last June.

Which geocachers do you respect or standout to you the most?

Different cachers stand out to me for different reasons; OHMIC, JB., and ruylopez for their number of finds, okeeffek and ruylopez for their puzzles, 1purplemonkeydishwasher1 for his challenging and frustrating hides, dani_carriere and OHMIC for their promotion of the sport, klblue and JB. for being the first cachers that I met this summer and for introducing me to a group of cachers nearby, Erocks and AngelFreak for being so welcoming and helpful with a new (yet old) cacher, glacier_ice and missionMode for their guidance and patience answering my endless questions, Da_Bowz for his clever and well - crafted hides, crackerjackie for her number and wide variety of hides, trag_cachers and Da_Bowz for their puzzle solving, the list goes on and on! From the old days it would be polarbeardiggers (who I didn't get a chance to meet before they retired in 2006), The Stuntman, 1Queen4Jokers, again the list goes on….

With whom do you normally go geocaching?

The majority of my finds have been made with GroovyPinkSocks, netleyhunter, Da_Bowz, Erocks and AngelFreak - good times with great company!

If you could cache anywhere in the world, where would you like to go?

That is a tough question, as I think I would enjoy caching anywhere and everywhere that I had a chance to!

Is there a challenging local cache you have in your sights right now? Which one?

What kind of books do you prefer to read? What was the last book you read?

I call myself a nerd as I read a great deal and I am a member of a book club! Currently I am reading, The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. I generally read fiction however I am open to reading almost anything.

Can you play a musical instrument?

No, however thanks to Wagonmaker and his caches I know more now about music than I ever have!

How far from your house is the nearest unfound cache?

I admittedly have a few nearby as emergency caches for my streak. The closest currently is 720 m away.

Besides your GPSr, what other tools (electronic or otherwise), or software do you make use of?

GSAK and I just don't understand each other! I am awaiting a workshop to be planned for that!

Do you use your GPSr for other reasons other than Geocaching?

Yes, at the lake for navigating in the boat and while out hiking and exploring. We also use it to mark good fishing spots.